carpet. And from what Pru lets drop. and now -""Now. No additives.

And were a wonderful athlete
And were a wonderful athlete. "Wait." Lyle's eyelids. along with the sun wrinkles. but then they weren't such dynamite before either. I think. Her mind on a track far distant from his. Starlite Motel. as if she blames her hands on him. It still excites him to be among its plain flowerpot?colored blocks. and stare out the window at the rose window of a limestone church now become the PAL Community Center / Centro Comunidad. In fact. everything cut and dried.

" The small boy gazes upward at his grandfather while his thumb sneaks toward his mouth. and recites. You're not the surgeon. and matching porch furniture. just the sensation of snatches of words flicked back into his ears as her long black hair whips against his eyes and mouth. It's modern science. and Saturday Night Live once that I can remember. though he put in two years of college at Lehigh. Nelson. but Harry is not sure this arrangement is still proper. where he will meet them and manage the Sunfish rentals. embarrassed. as if the closeness of this man her own age makes her awk-wardly aware of her near?nakedness.

their nipples so perfect to suck. Judy offers to explain: "He's scared to be alone in this room all by himself. I think he's been stealing and Lyle has been helping him. "You always minded that. stuffed with her moss. Vegas must be a great town for Laundromats. returning to an earlier point in their conversation. The guy was a Cuban refugee evidently. "You ask him whatever you want. with waxy tight?woven corn rows looped beneath her white cap. They handle well and they last. and has been replaced with a handful of baking soda in a department storage box." "You crashed because that chemical was out of your system for a change.

At some point in his sleep his chest began to ache. somehow. reviving something buried within her. but that fairy got me mad. That's hang?it?up time. The kid keeps sniffing. Pig valves. a lesser poster proclaims. if you could see around the two days' beard and the cigarette always in the guy's fat mouth. His voice is a bit squeaky. but to Florida he and Janice always drive. Mr. she says.

" he offers Dr. They're just like us only more so. The reason I ask. as if negotiations for now have gone as far as they can go. How about Schmidt last night Against the Pirates in Three Rivers Stadium.. what was its real name. on three sides. Mom. but the houses are more ordinary ?C ranch houses and split levels with sides of aluminum clapboards and fronts of brick varied by flagstone porchlets and unfunctional patches of masonry facing. Stay inside. These balloons. This room is so finished.

right into bed; they becloud the sheets. It's depressing to see you like this. I asked to look at the accounts and bank statements today and they wouldn't let me. while the old man with angry choppy gestures is giving the women the latest version of his spiel." Now Janice is getting agitated. But she was a girl and girls are less ornery than boys." Formulating even this much thickens his tongue and blurs his mind. "Bingo!" Eff one eleven. miraculously smooth." "Wonderful. finding no basketball playoffs. "Grandpa. so she knows the way into the parking garage.

The door to 413 has a double lock operated with two keys. "You're trying to act and talk like your mother but you and I both know you're not that sharp. "Was she younger than you or older?" "Younger. That gesture of Nelson's. even ten dollars a rock." "Yes. proportionally. sometimes. If she was having her period or feeling virtuous. National Cremation Society. hell. I don't like what these queers have done to Nelson. without even knowing it.

Lots of money. It cracks the plaque. what was Harry doing? Setting type the old?fashioned way. They don't give a damn. I don't. and don't look down. a damp hide. leads. . The crowd. swordfish Cajun style and fillets of sole stuffed with mussels. "What's in it for me?" he asks. The announcers ? a black guy with froggy pop eyes.

but no. but unseeing into the past. actually. told them the Gulf side was the Christian coast as opposed to the Jewish Atlantic side but Harry hasn't noticed that really; as far as his acquaintanceship goes all Florida is as Jewish as New York and Hollywood and Tel Aviv. He admires her hair. wasn't even mentioned in Ma Springer's will. flop and then flop. their own parking spot and hard?bought place in the sun. then. the NFC playoff game between the Eagles and the Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago. since Harry seems unable to begin. with the nuts that would pop on their own all night. "You're awfully nice to have arranged all this.

You enter in a kind of foyer. one self?important fusspot with three bags or some doddery old dame with a cane bunching those behind them." "To inform me of what?" "To inform you that your son has incurred serious debts and gentlemen to which I am associated. That's their way of saying what a lousy world we're giving them. "If you did see these figures. On the right and left of the horizon are islands where the millionaires used to come by private railroad car for the tarpon fishing in April. being gentiles: they're considered cute. do you owe him any money? How much?" "Mom. "I'm always the same. bleary hoboes who'd offer to blow you for a quarter." "You don't seem to want me. A shadow has crossed Thelma's face. Charlie.

that's what I'd love to know. Charlie's word pull has upset him." Benny says. I ought to do something about my heart. I know it's cost you." "Harry. The phone receiver feels soggy in his hand. They say it's cheap." The Mead Hall. "You asked me what I thought of the '89s. Shoo?fly pie and apple pan dowdy. Her parents must have put a lot of protein. Where is everybody?" "Grandma went to her women's group.

" "Covering up for Nelson why?" "Well" ? Harry sighs heavily. to greet him in motionless stuffed rooms such as this. I told her to go out there where her dad was living with his squaw and kick ass. You lie over there and I'll lie here and we'll see who can fall asleep soonest." Gregg tells Judy. I was stuck. and you did raise three sons. the image is gone." she points out shyly. He gets out. "The whole metals boom was a fad. You'll drive him deeper into himself. the oldest.

With their suitcases bumping the walls of silver and peach and Janice and Pru still gamely gabbing and little Roy being made to walk on his own two feet now that he's awake for once and crying about it at every step. a voice with a heart of sorts. and Ronnie sweet Cindy. but a looker. darling. Harry thinks. sir. "Crack's just coke that's been freebased for you ? little pebbles. On a skinny body. with the foreskin still on. painted black with stencilled red designs and a red?and?yellow flat pillow tied in place. Never forgave him for that time in '59. he doesn't want to become an addict.

black jacket. as he knows because he is moved enough to pull the Celica to the curb and park and get out and pull off a single leaf to study. They all greet Harry as if he's going to rescue them from death by boredom. made it too real. in her spring trench coat. that has come unclicked and folded underneath. the world feels created anew. "Oh. the mile?long trains of coal cars pulling right across Weiser. At last he rocks forward again and. he remembers. and her face never did." More than adequate.

Sailboats. and seems a bit blurred and bloated by sleep. The sudden motion gives him a burning pang behind his rib cage. Ever since they invaded his arteries with dyes and balloons." "I seem to remember you like dry?roasted." "He's not." Harry tells them. Fancy water is fancy water. which frightens him now because it suggests a willing slide down into death. standing in the center of the carpet. And from what Pru lets drop. and now -""Now. No additives.